Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Winter! As I write this we are getting slammed with snow, rain, sleet, ice and maybe some tarantulas. Seems like all kinds of things are falling from the sky and we never know what is coming next. Personally I love it. Snow me in for days and I will be a happy camper. As long as my awesome fam is all around me, bring it on!

I thought I'd share a fun activity we love here. I cannot take one ounce of credit for this. I belong to a fabulous group of neighborhood mamas (MOMS Club) who are so generous to share their creative ideas of what works in their homes. I believe this originally came from Betsy. THANK YOU!

It takes us about a half hour from start to finish. It's messy, but clean at the same time! The messier they get, the cleaner the table becomes. How cool is that! Plus the kids are getting all lathered up themselves so I'm thinking it's double duty on them as well.

I know it sounds strange, I was very hesitant to try it. However it really does work and it's not like a fountain of running water pouring over the edges as I first imagined it would be.

To start, dribble a little water on the table.

Then drip a few soap droplets from your dish washing soap container and let the little people get to work!

Have about a 1/2 cup of water and a bottle of dish soap handy. As it lathers, both the water and soap will need replenishing.

My girls ask to do this almost nightly but I try to sqeeze it in weekly - or wait until the table is so grimey it's barely recognizeable. When everyone has had enough, I send them to the bathroom to rinse their hands off while I use a wet washcloth to wipe down the table. This is also a good time to get the wet-mop out as there will be dribbles on the floor.

You can see my dish soap and little cup o' water on the table here. My girls are ages 4 and 2. Both are able to fully participate, feel useful, get messy, and have fun. I love doing this with them! Give it a try sometime. And then look up your nearest MOMS Club chapter so you can spread the word and your own motherly wisdom!

PS - Please feel free to leave more ideas in the comments. I think all mamas are looking for fun things to do with the kiddies, especially in the winter.